Not mine, as somehow, I just eased into a retirement mode after practicing for it, for several years, or so it seems.  Not my Bride’s either, though she is chomping at the bit and making her plans for it.  I joke that I may have to go back to work, when she retires, but in reality, we have actually gotten used to both of us under one roof, almost full time, so I guess we are OK.  No, one of her friends retired and she really didn’t want any of the pomp or circumstance of a corporate retirement party, as she had basically worked “remote” most of her career and enjoyed it immensely.  For years she and my Bride used to go to the spa together and get a workout, and now they mall-walk.  They shop together, and even though they have called a moratorium on gift giving, they still find loopholes to continue giving gifts. 

Sometimes I even get a chance to be the third wheel as the other night, we had gathered for dinner to celebrate the retirement.  We all met at Rocky’s in Northville, which is becoming one of go-to restaurant along with half of the population around here.  It is off the beaten track and as far back as I can remember, you always had to have a reservation, especially now with their shortened hours of business. Rocky’s has several rooms and this time we were seated just off the bar and not far from the stuffed Kodiak bear, which just adds to the ambiance of being a restaurant “up north.” We actually were very easy that night as we all started with the famous Black Bean soup, that even during the fifteen-day quarantine that lasted over a year, we would order this soup by the quarts to take home. Then we all had Potato Encrusted Great Lakes Whitefish with a Lemon-Cream Sauce and fresh vegetables.  Then the three of us shared a Sander’s Hot Fudge Cream Puff, a Michigan (especially a Detroit) classic dessert.

Since this was a bon-voyage party we had a bottle of bubbly, Piper Sonoma Brut Sonoma County NV.  Piper Sonoma was founded in 1980 by the Marquis d’Aulan, whose family has been linked for generations with Champagne and Premium wines.  The wine is produced in Healdsburg and is produced by the classic technique known as Methode Traditionelle; the same process used in Champagne.  Each vineyard lot is hand-harvested, fermented and aged separately.  Primary fermentation takes place in tanks and barrels, and then is “tirage” bottled where it undergoes a second fermentation and it ages on the lees.  The wine is a blend of seventy percent Chardonnay, twenty percent Pinot Noir, three percent Pinot Blanc and seven percent Aged Reserved Blend.  The wine was a pretty pale gold color with small bubbles.  It offered notes of apple, mandarin orange and brioche in a rich creamy texture and balanced acidity with a nice medium length finish.  Our guest of honor, who really doesn’t drink, enjoyed a glass of the wine, and of course my Bride found another loophole to give her a retirement present.